Post-match comments

Manuel Pellegrini was very satisfied with the victory over Valencia. The coach had words of praise for all his men. Valencia coach Unai Emery admitted that his side were simply beaten by a better team. The Real Madrid squad was happy with the victory. Everyone agrees the league is still open.

"I am proud of my men's mental strength"

Pellegrini:

We studied Valencia’s style thoroughly, so I am delighted with the victory. I am proud of my men’s mental strength and fighting spirit.

We’ve won 15 of our 16 home games in La Liga and we’ve also scored an important number of goals. I am very satisfied with what my men do both on and off the pitch. It was very important to win in Almeria and seal that victory with another one here tonight. We are a straightforward and goal-scoring team.

We try to make progress in each game. Our intention is to always win.

I am very happy for Guti. He is having a great run, but we need our 23 men to be in top form if we are to win the title.

Emery:

Madrid has been better and that is reflected on the scoreboard. At Real Madrid’s home ground it is very difficult to stop them because they have great potential. The result is fair and we have not challenged effectively.

We came with the intention of winning the game, but our opponents are competing for the league and have been better than us. The difference is how often they have chances to score and the result, that is the reason for the difference in the table between [everyone else] and Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The first thing is to get back that offensive and defensive strength. We must reinforce our home form and strengthen it on the road. We must win five games. There is no cushion whatsoever, we go match by match. Away from home we must have more chances to win, I am convinced that will change things.

Guti:

We had many chances on goal and managed to control the entire match despite facing a great team.

We are proving the league is far from over. We have to win every game to put pressure on Barcelona. We have to make them feel we are coming closer to them each week. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two best teams in the championship. The winner of the title will be the side that does best from here on end.

Higuain:

I think we played one of our best games tonight. We dominated over a tough opponent. We never gave up and played especially well in the first half. There are five finals left and many points in play. Barcelona’s lead over us is very short.

Marcelo:

We played very well in the first half and we deserved more goals. We are working very hard and really concentrate to win. I believe we will win every game if we play like this. We won’t relax.

Ronaldo asked me for the ball, so I served him an assist. We will continue to play like this. It will be difficult to win in Zaragoza. We will now rest in order to play there with the same intensity.

Gago:

I don’t know if we’ll win the title, but we have to take more points because we are just one shy of Barcelona. We have to fight to the bitter end.

We have to keep this up in order to win the rest of our games. The squad is united. There are things we may have to improve on. Our next match will be very physical, but we must take three points to stay alive in the fight for the title.

Sergio Ramos:

I wish we win a title for the fans. We know just how much is at stake. Our fans deserve a title because they’ve suffered to see us eliminated from two competitions.

We will face teams for whom there is much at stake. We have to play this well from here on end to win. It would be a mistake on our part to focus on all five games at once. Everything will be at stake for us in Zaragoza. We have to win every game in order to have a chance to win the title.